Linda Nolan has told how cancer has become a ‘way of life’ for her and admitted she will never beat it as she gave a health update during her third battle with the disease.
The singer, 64, was first diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005 before being diagnosed in 2006. But in 2017, she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.
Earlier this year she revealed that the cancer has spread to her brain, with two tumors discovered on the left side of her brain, leaving her struggling with her speech and balance.
But in a heartbreaking confession, Linda explains in her latest column The mirror that she believes she will not survive cancer for the third time, noting: ‘I have sounded the alarm twice. And I know now that I won’t call again.’
In her column, Linda initially provided an update after receiving some test results on Monday, in which she was delighted that the cancer was under control for the time being and had not grown.
Heartbreaking: Linda Nolan has told how cancer has become a ‘way of life’ for her and admitted she will never beat it as she gave a health update during her third battle with the disease (pictured in 2020)
Struggle: Linda Nolan has told how cancer has become a ‘way of life’ for her and admitted she will never beat it as she gave a health update during her third battle with the disease (pictured in 2022)
Candid: Linda shared in a heartbreaking confession that she believes for the third time she will not survive cancer, noting: ‘I have sounded the alarm twice. And I know now that I won’t call again’ (pictured in September 2020)
She wrote: ‘The relief rolled over me like a wave. Thank God. My tumors are stable and have not gotten any bigger. The chemo will keep them at bay for the time being. So we continue. Every three weeks, as long as I can tolerate it.’
Describing how she has become so used to life with cancer, she continued: ‘I then went away for my sixth cycle. It has now become a way of life. I have my cancer book – a title I never thought I would have in my library – which records all my blood counts, weight etc. (I have lost 4kg, although I think I could live on it for a while what’s left). ‘
After praising her nurses, Linda opened up about how she looks at other cancer patients who have beaten the disease and rang the bell for chemo, admitting she herself won’t do it a third time.
She said: ‘I watch people, listen to the beeps and claps as those who have finished treatment ring the doorbell. That’s great, I’m always happy for them, but I rang the bell twice. And I know now that I won’t call again.’
The TV personality added that she wasn’t “angry” about her fate, adding that everyone is on their own “path” on the “conveyor belt of the chemo department,” noting that for now her path is “straight runs’.
Linda underwent a mastectomy and 18 chemotherapy treatments after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and lost her husband Brian in 2007 and younger sister Bernie in 2013 to cancer, while her eldest daughter Anne overcame the disease.
In July, Linda revealed she had shaved her head after losing her hair for the fourth time while battling incurable cancer.
The singer was told by doctors in March that she had two large growths surrounded by smaller ones on her brain, almost two decades after she was first diagnosed with cancer.
Positive: In her column, Linda initially provided an update after receiving some test results on Monday, revealing her elation that the cancer was at bay for now and had not grown
Sad: ‘I look at people, listen to the beeps and clapping when those who have finished treatment ring the doorbell. That’s great, I’m always happy for them, but I rang the bell twice. And I know now that I won’t call it again’
Reflection: The TV personality added that she wasn’t “angry” about her fate, adding that everyone follows their own “path” on the “conveyor belt of the chemo department”
In an interview, Linda discussed how she had taken back control with the help of her hairdresser friend, but is still ‘devastated’.
She said The mirror: ‘My friend who is a hairdresser came over and just shaved it. Then I said, “Give me a cap, let’s have a drink!”
“Because I’ve also had steroid treatment and my face is swollen, I feel like I look like Mrs. Potato Head.”
She added, “People say, ‘Well, you know you look great,’ but inside I’m screaming, ‘I just don’t want to lose my hair anymore!’ I was devastated to lose it.
Linda was going to take a new ‘miracle drug’ in addition to ‘another chemotherapy drug’ for her brain tumors and hoped it would buy her ‘more time’.